karen at solid grounds coffee shop, our home today. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that's it for "special report," fair, balanced and unafraid. >> this is "the fox report." tonight, president obama and governor romney gearing up for what could be a make or break first presidential debate. plus, the u.s. supreme court begins a brand new term very his that could effect us all. >> gay marriage, affirmative action, voting rights. those just a few of the controversial issues that the top court is expected to tackle. but tonight could the healthcare law be back on the agenda? plus the u.s. military suffered its 2,000th death in afghanistan. three more american troops are dead in a bomb attack tonight,

what the latest could mean for the america's war. >> and does anybody remember where we parked the car? but first from fox this monday night. the race for the white house both president obama and the republic presidential nominee mitt romney are out west right now getting ready for their first debate this wednesday. there are a total of three presidential debates scheduled. the first one at the university of denver set to focus on domestic issues. it comes as the new national poll from "the washington post and abc news finds president obama leading 499% to 47% nationally. that's well within the margin of error. but national polls don't actually tell it the whole story because this election will be decided by a handful of swing states. both are spending a lot of time and a lot of money

president obama is opening up some sleedz. this first debate could give the president more momentum or help governor romney reverse the trend and shake up the race. both campaigns are trying to down play expectations of what we'll see on wednesday. we have team fox coverage tonight ed henry on the president. first, john roberts covering governor romney's campaign for us. i know they are down playing expectations, john. but what are we expecting in the way of debate preparations now? >> in terms of debate preparation, i talked with mid romney's debate coach senator rob portman about that he said the strategy depends on which president obama shows up. if it's the combative and aggressive president obama. mitt romney could go toe to toe with him and punch for punch. it's it's 2008 rope-a-dope obama that dominated the debates back then governor romney has to be careful not to punch himself out early or commit any unforced errors. clearly articulate the choice between himself and president obama where he would take the

country and where the president would here is ryan. >> he needs to give the american people the choice we are offering. that's what we are doing. we owe the country a very clear choice of a different future. we can either have a dynamic growing economy that produces opportunity or we can have a stagnant economy that fosters dependency. >> and this debate format is going to be different for the governor as well. out of 23 debates he has never, shep, had a one-on-one like he will on wednesday. >> shepard: while they are trying to lower expectations here some surrogates and some aren't. >> exactly. things are going pretty well in the expectations game. right up until governor chris christie of new jersey went on the air and hit mitt romney's expectation right out of the ballpark. listen to this. wednesday night the restart of this campaign i think you will see those numbers move right back in the other direction. come thursday morning the entire narrative of this race is going to change. >> you know, if you are in the

romney camp, you are doing one of these. but truth be told they would like to see the race turned upside down wednesday morning. they don't want people to expect it. shep? >> shepard: john roberts, thanks very much. well, president obama spent the day in nevada. one of those key battleground states. campaign aides say he will be practicing for wednesday's debate with mock show downs with senator john kerry. team fox coverage continues. ed henry is live in las vegas tonight. tell us how the president is trying to lower expectations, ed? >> well, shep, to hear the obama camp tell it, it's almost as if they are not sure the president is going to be able to show up and complete a full sentence. jay carney was telling reporters a few moments ago the president gives very long answers and that's a liability for him in this debate. when is the last time you heard the white house press secretary say the president is any sort of a liability. they are desperately trying to lower expectations going into this. they are playing up mitt romney's expectations by saying he was so gifted in those republic primary debates. take a listen to david plouffe. >> we have expected all along

that governor romney will have a good night. he has prepared more than any candidate in history. he has shown himself to be a very very good debater through the years. the fact of the matter is the president hasn't had a debate like this in four years. if you go back four years ago, he did pretty darn well against hillary clinton who is a tough debater. he survived those primaries and did a pretty good job against john mccain in three tough debates in the financial crisis and some of the big debate in 2008. >> the senator of the foreclosure crisis arguably. that could hurt the president. >> it can, because it's sort of the right climate for mitt romney to take advantage of the president's battle ground, foreclosure of the country. double digit unemployment in the state here. worse than the national average. what the president is trying to do is say look, not just low her expectations from the debate but say he has got a better plan for the future. take a listen. >> governor romney is a good

debater. i'm just okay. but what i'm most concerned about is having a serious discussion about what we need to do to keep the country growing and restore security for hard working americans. the president trying to focus on the future not his record. the past seems to be working in this battleground not by a lot but the real clear politics average of recent polls here in nevada shows the president up 49% to 45% over mitt romney. again, this is one of those states with business background, economic background mitt romney should be breaking through. instead right now he is trailing. not by a lot but is he down here, shep. >> shepard: ed henry live in las vegas this afternoon. wednesday night fox report "studio b" will be live in denver for the debate and then you can watch bret baier and megyn kelly for cleat coverage in prime time wednesday night 9:00 eastern time right here on fox news channel. one of the nation's largest

credit card companies has agreed to pay back $85 million to customers for violating what investigators say happened at every stage of the customer experience. according to the feds. american express charged illegal fees, discriminated against applicants based on age and mislead commerce about its debt collection policies. amex is the largest credit card company based on spending it will reportedly pay the settlement to a quarter million customers. in addition the compani' will have to pay $27 million in fines. you may recall last week the feds ordered discover card to refund $200 million to customers because of similar violations a boost for our stocks and 401(k)'s today with word that american factories turned out more goods this months than last. it's the first jump in manufacturing in four months

it may be a sign that jobs are improving. the dow first up 160 points and closed up 78. into rally faded after the fed chairman ben bernanke defended a controversy program to buy up $40 billion in mortgage debt every month until employment improves. the slowing economic recovery forced the feds to resort to such unusual measures after lowering interest rates to next to nothing failed to turn things around. critics of the plan say it could lead to inflation in the future. an amtrak train has derailed in central california after officials say a big rig truck slammed right into it just south of fresno. as many as 40 people reported hurt in the crash. when several cars jumped the tracks. trace gallagher in our west coast news hub now. trace, exactly how did this happen. >> well, the train was heading south from oakland to bakersfield. it crashed in a town called

hanford which is 30 miles outside fresno it appears that a truck carrying a cotton by product actually blue through the signal and crashed into the train. it looks like three of the five railcars are off the track. you can see two of them there at a 45-degree angle. the people inside were tossed about. 169 on board. 40 injured. at last check 17 were taken to local hospitals. none of the injuries this time appears to be live -- life threatening. the driver of the truck that collided with the train is said to be in pretty serious condition. diesel is leaking from the train. authorities belief they can get it cleaned up relevant relatively quickly. non-injured passengers being bussed to bakersfield and if need be on to los angeles. you see this there that train is going to be on the tracks for hours and hours to come. if you are riding amtrak, you might need to call ahead. 2008 at that very same intersection, shep, truck

carrying lemon peels blew through a signal, hit an amtrak train in that case 20 people were injured. in both cases the signal was said to be operating but weather may have been a factor in the 2008 case 100 degrees today and clear as a bell. unclear what was going on with the driver of the truck today, shep? >> shepard: trace gallagher in los angeles. update us. thank you. dramatic look at a bus crash that killed six people on a busy highway. can you see the flames engulfing that buzz on all sides. it happened in northern china. state media there report that the photo came from somebody's cell phone camera. the bus carrying german tourists reportedly slammed into the back of a truck right before it burst into flames. more than a dozen people reported hurt with fractures, bruises and burns. according to state media, incidents linked to bad driving and poor road conditions killed some 70,000 people across china last year. the u.s. supreme court back in session yesterday. and the justices could have something to say about

president obama's healthcare overhaul. live report on what we are waiting trouble on not one but two flights when rows of seattle suddenly come loose from the floor. now we are hearing from the airlines. that's ahead tonight as fox reports live.

>> shepard: the feds are working to figure out what caused seats to come loose on board a pair of american airlines flights. the first happened on saturday according to that airline the boston to miami flight was carrying 175 passengers when it diverted to new york's jfk. after three seats in row 12 just came loose. landed safely. no reports of anybody hurt. and then this morning, a similar issue forced another american airlines flight from jfk to miami to return to kennedy. in a statement, american airlines reports an initial investigation, quote: has indicated that there could be a possible issue with a certain model of seats and how

they fit into the tracking used to secure the seats. the statement goes on: the issue does not seem to be tied to any one maintenance facility or one work group. the f.a.a. is now investigating both incidents. a preliminary report shows crews had removed and reinstalled seats during maintenance. all this is coming up as you might imagine because of american airlines declared bankruptcy last year and right now it's in a battle with its pilot's union. so far there is no indication that either of those factors contributed to the incidents. the supreme court justices got back to work today and if you thought their ruling on the president's healthcare overhaul was the last word, think again. today the nine justices indicated they are open to potentially hearing new challenges to the healthcare law. of course, it's still too soon to tell whether a new set of arguments will actually happen. remember, back in june the high court voted to uphold most of the overhaul, including the rule that forces many of us to buy some form of health insurance or pay a penalty if we don't. shannon bream live in d.c.

tonight. she covers the supreme court for us. and it sounds like there is some unfinished business on the healthcare law. >> well, shep, one of the first plaintiffs to sue over the law liberty university has been pushing the supreme court for a re-hearing on issues the court did not decide. liberties lawsuit was stopped at the fourth circuit without being resolved on the merits and the university wants another shot. prime -- primarily to re-examine it did not that is the employer mandate. shep? >> shepard: what are the odds that this actually makes it back to the supreme court, shannon? is there a way to know? >> we did get a strong signal today. the court has given the administration 30 days to respond to liberty's request for a re-hearing. court watchers like former seener doj official thinks liberty has a good shot. decent shot entitled to day in court. go back and fight another day in the lower court. who knows, might be in here a

year arguing about the next healthcare decision. >> it could be on the fast track back here to the supreme court in a year. shep. >> shepard: shannon, other big cases coming up as well. >> next week the court will consider a case that could impact every college in america whether or not they can use race as a criteria in their admissions policies. this case was filed by a couple of white applicants who say they didn't get into the university of texas because of race. we're also waiting to hear whether the justice also take up one of several cases involving same sex marriage. the justices will soon announce whether they will hear a challenge to the defense of marriage act which you'll remember the administration has announced it will no longer defend in court. there is also the prop 8 case out of california. a voter approved amendment to the state's constitution which would give only legal recognition to marriage between a man and a woman. we're waiting. standing by, shep. >> shepard: all right. shannon bream in d.c. shannon, thanks. new accusations tonight that the justice department is spying on a lot more americans these days.

that's according to the american civil liberties union. the aclu reports that from 2009 to 2011 orders for warrantless telephone surveillance went up 60%. emails and network data increased by 361%. this kind of surveillance doesn't involve monitoring the content of conversations they tell us. that is the government is keeping tabs on to whom people are talking but not what they are saying still an aclu representative says a rise in surveillance is some cause for concern. >> the people have a right to know how these extremely invasive surveillance powers are being used and if there is nothing to hide, if they're not being abused where is the harm in letting us know. >> shepard: federal judge authorized every instance of surveillance and a smokesmanned as as criminals use more and new sophisticated technology the use of orders issued by a judge and explicitly authorized by

congress to obtain non-content information is simply for federal law enforcement officials to carry out their duties to protect the public and investigate violations of federal law. we knew about the death of a u.s. border agent. now there is a new report that indicates guns linked to operation fast and furious may have been involved in more killings. and we're getting word just how young some of those victims are said to have been. a live report is next. plus, a tough road ahead to the indianapolis head coach. an announcement today that is he suffering from leukemia. details and the prognosis coming up. big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee... affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of res? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. buy four select tires, get a $60 rebate. use the ford service credit credit card, get $60 more. that's up to $120.

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>> for the first time now we are hearing of teenagers murdered with weapons linked to operation fast and furious. that sting was meant to follow guns into mexican drug cartels but the feds didn't track some of those weapons. and bandits left two of them at the scene of a shootout where the u.s. border patrol agent brian terry died in 2010. until now his was virtually the only name we knew. the face of fast and furious failures. but now we are learning about some of the other possible casualties. william la jeunesse covering this for us. is he live in los angeles. william? >> well, shepard, these weapons sold in the united states and smuggled south continue to produce a

staggering body count in mexico. brian terry was one victim. but now univision the spanish language network produced a bombshell documentary that puts a human face on this american scandal with guns traced to fast and furious killed 18 drug rehab center in juarez late in 2009. months later the cartel hit mass cerd 16 at a teenager's birthday party. >> they feel helpless. they don't know what to do and they say who is going to pay for this? by cross-referencing weapons weapons sold in mexico. hundreds of fatalities to the u.s. program. while the mexican government has offered little criticism of the u.s. administration from which it receives hundreds of millions of dollars in aid. the victims are hoping to find justice in u.s. courts. >> go and sue in the united states with these american lawyers.

>> now attorney general eric holder did not fire anyone for fast and furious. we are told reviews internally are underway for about a dozen officials. inspector general found that the a.g. himself did not know about the operation until the death of brian terry. shepard, some 1200 guns remain in circulation suggesting the human cost will continue to rise. shepard? >> shepard: william la jeunesse live in los angeles. honda is recalling more than half a million accords due to the risk of fire. the accord is the second best selling car. engines from 2003 to 2007. according to honda a defective power steering hose can crack and leak possibly sparking a fire. the company reports one fire so far nobody hurt, company officials say they are replace the hoses for free but they won't have the parts until next year. the company is expanding its peanut butter recall after reports of salmonella

sickness. new mexico based company sells nut and nut butters to major retailers including whole foods, target and stop and shop. now recalling more than 100 products under multiple brand names after the feds linked peanut butter it makes for trader joes to at least 30 illnesses across 19 states. no word of any deaths for a full list of brands and retailers in this recall visit foxnews.com/shep. the head coach for the indianapolis colts facing the battle of his life. at an emotional news conference today officials announce the coach has an aggressive form of leukemia. doctors say he started chemotherapy last week the very same day he was diagnosed. they warned that the process will be long and complicated. the coach apparently made the appointment after experiencing some unusual bruising and tiredness. colts offensive coordinator will step in to it coach the

team while is he receiving treatment. north korea now claims the united states wants to engage in a new korean war as part of a plan to dominated asia. but that's not the only outrageous thing that ministers are saying today at the united nations and our bacon problems will not go away. sure, there may not be a shortage of bacon. the news on prices, well, that's not so good as we approach the bottom of the hour and fox top story. those surprising little things she does still make you te notice. there are a million reasons why. but your erectile dysfunction that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

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somebody beat to death a teenager in dorm room cops say the killer was her own boyfriend. a photo of the victim now. she was 18, a freshman at the state university of new york at brought port. the utica observer dispatch newspaper reports the victim and her boyfriend had been tweeting back and forth about this -- his weekend visit the paper reports her last tweet early on saturday morning was just two words. should have known. investigators say a short time later she was dead. police say they picked up her boyfriend at a rest stop half way to canada. the use that newspaper reports investigators say he admitted that he killed her. but he has since pleaded not guilty to murder in the second degree. muslims reportedly torched 10 buddhist terms after claiming a buddhist boy had posted a photo of a burned koran on facebook. our top story as we go around the world in 80 seconds.

bang gle derby. though sands of protesters lit up dozens of homes along with those terms. according to a local newspaper, the boy says the photo was mistakenly tagged to his facebook account. cops made more than a 160 arrests. the government vows to rebuild the victims' homes. pakistan thousands of families are now in camps for the homeless after monsoon rains flooded much of the country. unicef officials say they are sending drinking water to some areas. authorities say this rainy season has killed more than 400 people. france. scientists, historians and software engineers teamed up to create this 3 dimensional animation of paris. the company behind the project invited folks to see the finished product in front of paris' town hall. the creators say they aim to give folk as virtual tour through the city's 5,000 year

history. china. surfers from the united states, australia and brazil rushed to a river in the east titled born known as the silver dragon. it forms in the once a year. thousands of spectators used motor boats to chase down the swell and that's a wrap on this fox trip around the world in 80 seconds. >> shepard: i'm shepard smith. it's the bottom of the hour. time for fox top story. suicide bomb attack in afghanistan has left three u.s. troops dead. their translator and nearly a dozen others hurt. that pushes the total number of americans killed on the ground in our nation's longest war past the mark of 2,000. that works out to an average of roughly one service member killed every other day for the past 11 years. the taliban claiming responsibility for the attack which happened during a joint

u.s. afghan patrol in a market. the military recently scaled back the number of joint patrols because there have been so many of this exact kind of attack. a move which puts the u.s. forces in a very tight spot because the pentagon claims training afghans to protect their own country is the crucial part of what's left of the u.s. mission there jennifer griffin is with us from the pentagon tonight. jennifer, just last week we were reporting that they were not going to do these things anymore and now all of a sudden more americans are dead of the exact same thing. >> well, general allen essentially reversed his decision after 10 days. essentially because calling off these joint patrols called in to question the entire exit strategy. there is no real way to protect troops from this insider threat. this helmet cam video shows a u.s. soldier recently under fire. he was actually shot but not killed in kunar province. it was a more straightforward fire fight than the kind of attack causing most of the deaths now. in fact, the suicide bomber

today that killed 14 was reportedly dressed in an afghan police uniform here is general alan. >> recognizes this is a vulnerability. in iraq the signature weapon system that we hadn't seen before was the ied. we had to adjust to that. here, i think the signature attack that we are beginning to see is going to be the insider attack. >> but unlike the ied or the roadside bomb in airaq, this insider attack is very difficult to defend against. you can't simply make a vehicle stronger or protect the troops in that way. it's a matter of trust. >> shepard: if there is no trust is, there a consideration of speeding up the withdrawal date and getting our people out of there? >> it's interesting the head of nato in brussels today rasmussen essentially hinted as much with an interview with the guardian newspaper. general john allen the top u.s. commander in afghanistan

expressed his frustration. >> i am mad as hell about it to be honest with you. we're going to get after this. it reverberates everywhere across the united states. we're willing to sacrifice a lot for this campaign. but we're not willing to be murdered for it. >> allen is the first top level general to, excuse me, rasmussen is the top person to, at this point in nato to suggest any sort of change in the withdrawal deadline general allen from used at the inability to stop these kind of insider attacks, shepard. >> shepard: jennifer griffin at the pentagon. thanks so much. meantime journalists in afghanistan are celebrating a small victory for freedom of the press. the afghan government has agreed to drop some of its proposed new restrictions on reporters there among the changes, getting rid of a special court for accusations of media violations. still the government rejected more than a dozen changes the journalists had requested and keep in place a vague rules

that reporters must principles of islam without spelling out exactly what that means. the foreign minister of syria accused the united states of supporting terrorism for backing that country's rebel forces and for calling on the regime to step down. and his statement came as heavy fighting moved into one of syria's most historic areas. today government forces battle for control of aleppo's old city. rebels claim to control 90% of that old city amid constant government air strikes and mortar fire. a fire has also reportedly damaged the ancient market district in the city of 2.5 million people. we can't confirm any of that at the united nations today the country's foreign minister slammed the united states plus britain, france and others claiming the nations are responsible for the blood shed. >> we also wonder to what extent the states -- statements made by cut tar, saudi arabia, turkey, the united states and others, who

what extent do these statements which clearly incite and support terrorism in syria with money, weapons and foreign fighters, to what extent are these in line with the international responsibilities of these countries in combating terrorism? >> shepard: of course, human rights groups blame the syrian regime for much of the killing in the 18-month uprising. in fact, observers say as many as 30,000 people have already died since the conflict began. "the fox report's" correspondent jonathan hunt life at the united nations for us again tonight. jonathan, the foreign minister's speech must have raised a lot of eyebrows in that place. >> to say the least, shep. it amounted to an argument that syria is involved essentially in a battle for survival of its government. it is a war of self-defense. the country has, in his words, been overrun by terrorists. and they are being aided, abetted, and encouraged by

outside forces, including the united states. and the ones who are suffering most, according to the foreign minister, are the government and their representatives. listen. >> syria has lost thousands of marchers from among its military ranks and civilians as a price for its efforts to defend the integrity of the syrian state and its citizens in the face of this global terrorist campaign. >> the syrian foreign minister also said his government remains committed and willing to talk to all the opposition groups in an effort to find a solution. those opposition groups, not surprisingly, dismissed those commence -- comments as outrageous and unrealistic. >> shepard: the u.n. secretary general addressed those weapons today. >> yeah. obviously a lot of concern raised last week by leon panetta when he said there is some evidence that some of

those chemical weapons stockpiles have been moved. as a result, perhaps, of that information, the u.n. secretary general gave a stark warning today to president assad of syria. listen. >> i once again emphasize the fundamental responsibility of the syrian government to ensure the safety and security of any such stockpiles. the use of such would be outrageous crime with dire consequences. >> although given the lack of action from the u.n. on anything to do with syria, warnings of dire consequences from the secretary general are likely to be taken with a healthy dose of a pinch of salt by the syrians, shep? >> shepard: jonathan, before we wrap things up at the united nations, i had no idea that the united states was ready to start a war with north korea to take over all of asia. who knew? >> those were the claims made today by north korea's vice

foreign minister delivered a startling speech trying to one up the syrians being divorced from reality. he said that the u.s. is trying to use the korean peninsula as a bridge head for the complete unuttered domination of the entire continent of asia. it is u.s. policy rather than north korean ones that risk they're mow nuclear war on the korean pepsla. in the words of hugo chavez, north north korean's foreign minister gets my prize for the most bizarre speech. bill. >> shepard: jonathan hunt, thank you. iran's prime minister returned home after his controversial speech last week. there is word that his cameraman stayed behind and is seeking asylum in the united states. the cameraman was reportedly part of president ahmadinejad's entourage during a leader's visit to new york. a lawyer says that the cameraman defected though it is unclear when and how he got away from the iranian delegates or where is he

exactly right now. some wild new video capturing the shear power of a deadly typhoon in japan. keep an eye on the white car in the middle right here. >> that happened at u.s. marine base in okinawa. winds around 80 miles per hour blew that car right across the parking lot aided i'm sure by the side of that building. the wind and rain went on to cause huge problems in the tokyo area. officials say the storms swept away one fisherman killing him. left tens of thousands of homes with no power and sparked evacuation warnings for some 50,000 people. there was an extreme weather alert here at home. tornado watches now in effect across three states. a severe storm sweeps through the south. let's get right to meteorologist janice deem with the extreme weather center. >> tornado watches mean that conditions are favorable for tornadoes. we have had several tornado warnings within the last couple of hours, shepard. the latest for parts of

eastern tennessee from marion county until 7:00 p.m. central time north and west of chattanooga. we are starting to see rotation on this cell. move north and eastward. severe weather threat for all of these cities. portions of alabama through georgia florida panhandle up towards middle tennessee. shep. >> shepard: what's tomorrow looking like, janice. >> this storm is going to move north and eastward across the ohio river valley eventually northeast. the severe threat combined to that ohio river valley. here are the cities we are concerned about for severe weather. mainly hail, damaging winds but can't rule out a tornado. back to you. >> shepard: janice dean in the weather center. thanks. get ready to shell out more money for bacon. days after farm groups debunked a story about a coming bacon shortage. analysts say it is still going to get more expensive. new reports claim the price of a pound of bacon could jump 10%. so a pack that now costs $4 would soon be 4.40. if you need to shake a fist at

something look toward the clouds. record drought means feed is more expensive and farmers are raising fewer pigs a cost that usually ends up getting passed along to consumers. tonight word of a draw-dropping plunge in the number of military members asking for absentee ballots. what could be behind that drop and what it could mean for the upcoming election. but, first, calls for an administration official to resign over the white house's handling of that deadly consulate attack in libya. and dramatic new details from that night and one man's last ditch attempt to save the u.s. ambassador' life. creamy mash potatoes, homestyle gravy and 320 calories. marie callender's. it's time to savor.

ambassador stands beside the calls for susan rice to resign. member after the attack in benghazi that killed four americans ambassador rice called it spontaneous reaction to protests over anti-islamic

film. fox news has since learned that u.s. intention officials had internally classified the incident as a terrorist attack within the first 24 hours. now the chairman of the house homeland security committee, the republic congressman peter king says ambassador rice delivered information that was, quote: either intentionally or unintentionally misleading and wrong. the senate majority leader harry reid fired back saying some lawmakers are just trying to score some cheap political points. catherine herridge with us live from d.c. tonight. catherine, you spoke to the republic chairman on the house republic committee how did he react. >> just a short time ago congressman mike rogers suggesting the obama administration politicized the intelligence in the immediate aftermath in the attack on the consulate in libya. spontaneous and not premeditated terrorism. >> i argue the administration made some serious mistakes when they highlighted the video, escalated its credibility to the presidential level and then took it on tv in pakistan with u.s. taxpayer dollars.

>> rogers who told fox one day after the attack that it was indeed terrorism saying tonight that this statement from the director of national intelligence friday the nation's top intelligence official appeared to be an effort to object secure the facts. >> part of the problem is this circling of the wagons that is really concerning about. this again, americans need to understand the truth. and the facts are what the facts are. and the intelligence is what the intelligence is. >> fox news asked the administration official why it chose ambassador rice to discuss the sensitive intelligence details on five sunday talk shows. over four military officials including white house terrorism advisor john brennan, national security advisor tom done loan, the director of national intelligence zels the cia director and administration official told fox that they had lost an ambassador in the attacks and made the most sense to put out a senior diplomat to speak to that tragedy, shep. >> shepard: catherine, we have been reporting on a possibility of a link to this thing with detainee of guantanamo bay, do you have something new on that?

>> we do have something new. fox news has confirmed there is evidence that the former guantanamo bay detainee libyan trained some of the operatives that carried out the attack. that thrang believed to have taken place in makeshift training camps in eastern libya. there is evidence that the al qaeda affiliate was actively seeking western targets and there are new details first reported by the "new york times" the ambassador' body guard was so far away he had to sprint across the compound gunfire i left that site ultimately without the ambassador,. >> shepard: catherine herridge, thanks. >> you are welcome. >> shepard: it sounds like we could be in for a staggering drop in the number of military personnel voting in the election. military voter protection project service members requested fewer than 2,000 ballots. that is 92% drop from the last election. the figures are nearly as low in other battleground states. back in august the researchers

said the number of requested ballots would go up before november but it would still be very hard to match the 2008 levels. james rosen is on this story live in d.c. james? >> shep, good evening. the pentagon office tasked by law with boosting military voting rates is dod's federal voting assistance program. the head of that office wants all men and women in uniform to know that she and her colleagues say they are fully complying with the law and that there is still time for service members across the globe to request, receive, and cast absentee ballots. >> there is not a state that has a voter registration deadline any sooner than 30 days prior to the election. and many go right down to the wire. north carolina, for example, the voter registration deadline is the fifth of november. >> state by state surveys conducted in august showed that in florida, absentee ballot requests by military personnel were less than half the 2008 total. shep already telling you about virginia. even in ohio and north carolina, the rate is about

one tenth of that seen four years ago. with close to 70,000 americans still deployed in afghanistan, the pentagon's inspector general found in august that d.o.d. has failed to spend the estimated 15 to $20 million needed per year to set up voting assistance branches in all installations as the law requires. >> they received an appropriation $75 million in fy 11 and fy 12. $75 million to. say you don't have the resources to make sure that our service members can't receive their absentee ballot and participate in this election i just don't buy it. >> if you are in uniform and can you hear my voice and you want to some help getting absentee ballot go to fvap.gov. that's fox. or go to hero's vote.org. shep? >> james rosen live in washington. thanks. there is a new warning to presidents who leave their

televisions on for hours at a time even if the kids aren't really watching. second hand tv. and why the experts are just now saying it is bad for the brain. plus, remember mr. hot tub? he resigned after a government -- after a government scandal in that gym for eternity. now reports of even more taxpayers' dollars going to waste in washington. that's coming up.

>> shepard: endangered species of a spider which frankly nobody has seen more than three decades has put a stop to a 15-million-dollar construction project. a biologist discovered one of these spiders. one of them a baracken bat cave mesh weaver when a hole opened in the middle of a highway project in san an tone glow. expert consulting for the texas department of transportation compared to find stumbling upon a new galapagos employees island. not -- island. including commuters when if ever they will restart the project. casey stegall live in our texas newsroom. what's so special about this spider. >> shepard, scientists thought it was perhapsics ticket. then the arrack -- turned up

in the cave. by himself. only about the size of a dime. has no eyes. so why you ask all this fuss over our eight legged friend? >> every animal has a place somewhere in the ecosystem. there is no telling about this spider if it's a food source for something that's important. we may not think it has anything to do with us but we don't know that. >> who knows? those experts tell us, shepard that this creature could hold the cure to something like cancer one day. that's why they have got to protect it. >> shepard: i'm sure commuters buy that. [ laughter ] you know, they are furious. this is a very congested area on the western side of san antonio. near seaworld for a little bit of context new underpass was designed to auto leave united states so. traffic. now with the project on hold this whole thing is really bugging them. >> i would have probably stepped on it i mean, i don't

think it's been missing 30 years so what's the difference? it's a spider. >> here is the real kicker. scientists had to kill said spiedner a lab, dissect it to make sure it was, in fact, the endangered one. they are so worried about and caused this whole mess in the first place. shepard? >> shepard: wow. casey stegall in dallas. thank you. and just in to fox news, an official has resigned in connection with with another report involving taxpayer money wasted on conferences. this time a pair of veterans affairs summits in orlando, which cost more than $6 million. the agency's top human resources official has now stepped down after a report revealed those parties happened on his watch. the report from the veterans affairs inspector general accused him of not living up to his responsibilities. it also accuses several staffers of accepting gifts from contractors, including everything from helicopter rides to massages. the report says the v.a. parties were far more expensive than the conferences in a similar incident.

who can forget this man, mr. hot tub? he organized ritzy conferences in vegas for the general servicestration. total cost of those $800,000 all on the taxpayers' dime. he later pleaded the fifth while testifying before congress. tv may have a bad effect on kids even when it's just playing in the background. that's from a number of new studies. researchers estimate children get roughly four hours a dave just sort of background tv. second hand tv compared to about 80 minutes of active watching. some experts suggest this is linked to a lower quality parent/child interactions. and reduced performance on cognitive tasks. japanese companies are known masters of technology and productivity and scientists have discovered the secret. puppies. that's next. try this... bayer? this isn't just a headache. trust me, this is new bayer migraine.

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catches you strolling through pictures of cute baby animals you have a excuse. puppies and kitties may improve performance at the office. after test subjects got animals fixed performed better. were before we go top five things of the day number five, car megeddon the sequel is over. opened the 10-mile stretch freeway in los angeles second time part of a 1 billion-dollar project to add a car pool lane. number 4, american express agreed to pay back $85 million after deceptive practices. scientists examining soil from a home near detroit to find out where it holds the remains of jimmy hoffa. as many as 40 people hurt after former officials say big rig slammed into amtrak train in california. number one the president and governor romney preparing for their first presidential debate and that's "the fox report's" top five.

in 1962, 29-year-old veteran named james meredith took a giant step for civil rights when he became the first black student at the university of mississippi. at the time segregation was still the norm across much of the south. mississippi's governor and lt. governor had lock mr.ed james meredith from enrollment not once but three times. then a federal court stepped in and gave the okay. thousands of white stiewntsdz and others responded with large scale riots. tear glass filled the air at least two people died. u.s. marshals surrounded the student as he walked across campus to his first day of class now, the machine different story. minorities make up 24% of the student body and there is a statue to the man who changed ole miss forever 50 years ago today and no you know the news for this monday, october the 1st, 2012 i'm shepard smith. we're back tom